Gujarat polls: BJP to send Jaitley as central observer

New Delhi: The BJP Parliamentary Board today decided to send senior leader Arun Jaitley as a central observer to attend the Legislature Party meeting in Gujarat to complete formalities for electing Narendra Modi as the Chief Minister after his third consecutive election victory.

The Parliamentary Board, BJP's highest decision-making body, held a meeting to discuss the Assembly election results in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh. While the victory in Gujarat, which was on expected lines, was hailed, there were concerns about the poll loss in Himachal Pradesh.

AFP

"Arun Jaitley will go to Gujarat to attend the Legislature Party meeting as the central observer. He will oversee the formalities for electing the Chief Minister by the legislators," BJP general secretary Ananth Kumar told reporters here after the meeting. The date for the meeting is yet to be decided.

Thawar Chand Gehlot, who is a party General Secretary, will be the central observer in Himachal Pradesh when the BJP MLAs will elect their Legislature Party leader.

"Our popular leader Narendra Modi has set a new record with this victory. It is a hat-trick and a vote for development and good governance. We welcome and thank Modi and the people of Gujarat," Kumar said.

It was pointed out in the meeting that BJP has done well in almost all regions of Gujarat, be it Saurashtra, south Gujarat, central Gujarat, the urban constituencies or the tribal areas of the state.

The party is unhappy about the loss in Himachal Pradesh. Kumar said BJP had provided good administration in the hill state under the Chief Ministership of Prem Kumar Dhumal.

"But the results have not been upto our expectations. BJP will study the reasons for the defeat and prepare a list of things to be done to rectify the mistakes," he said.

Sources said BJP lost around six seats in the Kangra region due to lack of support from party vice-president and Dhumal's bete noire Shanta Kumar. The former Chief Minister was opposed to Dhumal and reportedly worked against the party's interest in the polls.